Virgin Australia boosts status credits on premium fares

Travellers making new flight bookings with Virgin Australia will now earn more status credits than before, when purchasing many flexible economy and business class tickets.

In some cases, Velocity members will take home up to 25% more status credits than they did before on equivalent flights.

The changes come as part of the broader relaunch of Virgin Australia’s domestic fare families, which see tickets consolidated under fewer categories alongside a new ‘carry-on only’ Lite fare.

More status credits in domestic business class

Almost all passengers buying domestic business tickets under the new system will earn more status credits than they did before, with no high flyers earning less.

Here’s how the changes shake out across home-grown routes short, long, and in between, for one-way flights booked from August 19 2021.

Under the rates above, just two return business class trips on routes like Sydney-Perth or Brisbane-Darwin would be enough to retain Velocity Gold status for another year, with four return trips similarly securing another 12 months of Velocity Platinum.

More status credits in flexible economy

Travellers purchasing Virgin Australia’s new Economy Flex fares will also be better off than under the previous Economy Freedom tickets they replaced, on journeys of medium length.

Here’s how many status credits you’ll now earn on a one-way flexible economy flight across the Australian domestic network.

While there’s no change for short hops and longer treks, those taking usually-popular flights like Brisbane-Melbourne will pocket just over 16% more status credits than before.

Again, this improved earn rate applies for flights booked from August 19 2021, when the fare brand is sold as ‘Flex’. Itineraries already booked under the previous ‘Freedom’ category will earn status credits at the previous rate, including for flights taken after August 19.

There’s no change to status credit earn rates on domestic semi-flexible fares, with the new Economy Choice delivering the same number of status credits as the previous Economy Elevate tickets.

Trans-Tasman travellers get a boost

Although ‘green’ flights from Australia to New Zealand are currently suspended – with Virgin Australia yet to have resumed its trans-Tasman routes before then, in any case – when these journeys do come back, passengers will earn more status credits on most fares.

This includes not only the more expensive business class and flexible economy tickets, but mid-tier economy as well.

With Getaway fares now retired and replaced by the new carry-on only Lite tickets, status credits earned on the airline’s lowest-cost economy tickets won’t be as high as before, however.

Here’s how many status credits you’d earn on routes like Sydney-Queenstown, Brisbane-Queenstown, and should the airline reinstate them, others like Sydney-Auckland.

As with domestic itineraries, the revised rates above apply to new flight bookings made from August 19 2021.

Also read: Virgin launches cut-price ‘seat only’ Economy Lite fare

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.